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In some parts of the City, things are actually quiet in this early evening. Remarkably so. Some would say that it's because the full moon is passing and all the freaks were out last night, and others would say that it's a calm before the storm. Riots may have broken out in some other cities for one reason or another, but so far, New York seems to be immune to it. So far.

Now, there is a march going on across one of the many bridges; a protest over something or other. If it's Tuesday, they're marching for larger portions of soft drinks and upping the sodium content in food. It simply doesn't matter. It's simply a fact of life in these parts.

It happens that said march is happening quite close to a ground shipping terminal, very close to Port Authority, very close to the Lincoln Tunnel. There is activity behind chain link fences, and trucks are starting up one after the other. It's not so strange that such a thing is happening; after all, beginning of the week and the like. It's just that… no one seems to be in the cabs of said trucks as they start.

Just inside the fences, sitting with dangling feet off a concrete 'Jersey Divider', is Loki, looking quite pleased. There is a figure right next to him, and his head is canted slightly, brows raised, and he speaks, though the noise of the diesels drown out what is said. There's no mistaking that he is -pleased-, however, with the animated features as a quick grin flickers, following with an emphatic nod.

~

Protests are a good place to pick up chicks.

That's Tony's reason for being here in his very expensive convertible wearing very expensive ray ban sunglasses in the early evening. They march, he drives a vehicle that gets about four miles to the gallon (assumedly, it doesn't, it doesn't even run on gas, but they don't need to know that). He's even riding directly behind them as they slowly do their protesting, honking his horn emphatically at all the right points.

"Hell no, they wont go." VROO.. VROOOOOOO.. honk honk.

That's democracy, they have the right to protest the end of summer and Tony has the right to make fun of them for it.

Also to pick up chicks.

Pulling up beside one of the better looking of the lot and pulling his glasses up onto his brow. "Hey, listen, I know you're trying to make the world a better place with signs and body odor, but how about we blow this sausage party and go get some lobster?"

~

They said it couldn't be done! Yet, the SHIELD scientists have outdone themselves yet again. Not far from Port Authority, Evelyn Wolstenholm and Melinda May test the latest product from SHIELD R&D. This time, it's an invisibility device using an extremely tight-fitting electronic mesh over a form fitting body suit and chameleon chemical coating over the entire suit. It doesn't leave much to the imagination, but fortunately, it appears to be working. Unfortunately, Evelyn was the only one able to really fit it given that any prolonged exposure to the chemical by anything organic tends to cause all sorts of issues. Headaches, loss of coordination, a disconnect from reality, comas, and death.

Stopping, Evelyn turns to face Melinda, though she remains invisible. "Alright, test 3-A right? Ready?" The disembodied voice is a little creepy, and it comes somewhat muffled behind what is presumably the mask of the sealed suit. Again, it's invisible and thus hard to tell.

Test 3-A seems to be pretty simple, Evelyn takes off at a slow jog and slowly accelerates to a run around the parking lot. At first, she's not visible at all. The only signs that someone's here is the sound of her breathing and running. As she speeds up to a run, the optical processors begin bogging down and a bit of an outline begins to form around her. The image is lagging a little bit. As she runs into a sprint, rainbow static begins to form in places, fading like a bad signal on a television set. Coming back, Evelyn jogs to a stop about five feet from Melinda, breathing a little heavier. "Test 3-A, complete." This is going to take a while. Only 75 more tests.

~

Go march with the protesters, Manning. Yes, I know you're not undercover detail. Yes, I know it's not likely to get violent. Yes, I know there's nothing unusual likely to happen that warrants EI. I also know all the extra paperwork I had to do when you came back from the dead. Are you still here? Which is why Paul is marching across a bridge looking exactly like a cop in civvies. He turns to look at the honking and recognizes the driver. Who knew Tony Stark was such an ass? Probably everyone who reads celebrity news but that's not him.

~

It's like hanging out with a child, some days. Sitting next to the Asgardian whom dangles his legs and looks so filled with glee is what would appear to be a trucker lady in all of her butch, tattooed glory. If there's going to be trucks, there's going to be truckers. At least one. For appearance's sake.

"So mah buddy's doin' a double nickel past the pickle park when a salt shaker blew his doors off, got a city kitty at his back door, no way he's makin' the backslide to Beer Town in time…" The honking of a car horn nearby catches the woman's attention with a snort. "Well ain't that just a total brake check waitin' to happen, right there."

~

Melinda May is, much like Manning, doing her imitation of a enforcement officer trying to blend in. Except that she doesn't really care of she doesn't blend in. That means people avoid her. That's better. When Wolstenholm checks in with her before starting test 3-A she merely nods slightly and keeps watching the unfolding protest. And Tony Stark being an ass. And … is that Manning? She cuts herself off mid-curse in Mandarin, then to reassure Evelyn that it was not aimed at her adds quickly. "Not you."

~

It's the beginning. The gates of the truckyard open up slowly, rolling upon their wheels as the machines whirrrr, moving the pulleys. Low tech, but it works! Drivers come out one by one and get into their awaiting trucks, and the sound of grinding gears rise into the air as they rock and buck their machines forward. (Oops. Probably should have gotten some drivers that actually -have- CDL licenses?) For any that are particularly sensitive to such things, there is a sort of magic in the air.

Loki turns and stares at the driver, his expression suddenly blank. Completely uncomprehending. "I believe," he begins, "oooooh…" comes soon after, right on its tails. His tones seem to dance; how to make a God of Chaos find his happy place. "Code. You really have learned something."

Motion, however, always gains attention; as does the incessant honking of horns and his gaze shifts towards the bridge 'traffic'. "That," and Loki points in the direction in which he's looking, "will be something of a problem." Though really?

That flicker just on the periphery of his sight, however? Sliding off his perch, the Asgardian straightens to his full height, his head cocked as if listening to something as he stares in the general direction of SHIELD. Nothing quite fixed yet, however. Just curious.

~

As one would expect, the woman is completely wooed by Tony Stark's charm and since she's only here because her boyfriend is one of those 'protest of the week' hippy sorts, she's dropping her sign and joining the S train to lobster town without much of a fuss.

With an affirming nod and sheepish grin from the lady, Tony pulls the car up short and leans over to push the passenger door open. "Hope in, get comfortable, clothing is optional." A pause, sitting straight while the door closes behind her, "Kidding, we could ge ta ticket for that."

"Later." Honking a few more times just to put an exclamation point on his prickdom, "I wish they would protest something important for a change… like blocking the bridge with pointless foot traffic." More honking, "I'm not even teasing you anymore, just mooove."

~

"Oh, sor-" Oh. Not her. Well, that's a relief. Melinda's distracted. Fuck it. Skip to test 67. It's not like she'll notice. Besides, the field research data should be extraordinarily useful for SHIELD's scientists. She knows the drill, she's been a lab rat since before Melinda held her first gun. Sort of brings back the memories. They may not be much, but they're all she has.

In a slow jog, Evelyn makes for the concrete wall leading up to the streets. At the last second she sprints forward and leaps, one foot at waist height to grab at the wall and push her vertically up the nine foot wall. The scuffing of her shoes and palms the only sounds as she scrambles for the ledge and just catches it with one hand. With an 'umpf!' she pulls herself up with all of her strength. Parkour coming in handing. A knee up on the ledge, she pulls herself up and then leaps over the metal safety rail. The suit seems to be holding up nominally. Little colored sparks appearing like static scarcely over the surface of her skin when she touches another surface. Data incomplete, the sensors can only pull so much data when some of them are covered.

One direction there's a fleet of trucks preparing to mass. In the other, a crowd of protesters. Interesting. The trucks are closer, but she can't really see what's going on. Figuring she might as well get a better view of what's happening, she jogs to an adjacent corner store and does that leaping trick again. It won't work to scale the side of a building, but it gives her enough height to grab onto a drainage pipe. This isn't even so much parkour as just basic CIA mobility training. Once again, neat things from a sucky agency. Scaling to the top of the building via pipe, Evelyn pulls herself over /that/ ledge and looks onwards. Onwards towards the fleet of trucks.

Reaching up, Eve presses into her ear, "Hey, May. Do we know anyone wearing.. green.. and gold leather? I can't make out any details. Black hair?"

~

"Lean on the horn one more time and I'll arrest you for disturbing the peace." Paul says, turning to lean in toward Stark. "They have a permit to be here. You could have chosen a different bridge to pick up women." With no common sense. And wouldn't that make the Captain happy: him arresting Tony Stark. He is though, totally serious and the look he gives Stark should let him know that. "That will include a breathalyzer test." he adds before turning back. To march. In the fucking protest. Shoot him now.

~

Butch Trucker grins right back at Loki with the compliment. "Learned? Naw. Lot more ta me'n meets th' eye." This is hardly anything new for the metamorph, it's all part of playing a role.

Back to the issue at hand (Stark,) Truckgal Extraordinaire narrows her eyes from beneath the brim of a grimy dirt-blue cap, watching the obnoxiously loud car for a while longer. "Huh. Reckon I'd fancy gettin' at the pedals of that there four wheeler. Be great for shakin' the bushes while pushin' toward the big hole. Assumin' the bears aren't all over it 'fore ya can put the hammer down," she adds with a smirk as someone nearby seems to bitch out the driver.
..Wait. That driver looks awful familiar… It's such a little thing for the mutant in disguise to adjust the range of her eyesight, her smirk growing just a little bit further. "Well ain't that just curious as Hell."

Melinda May listens to Evelyn's report of green and gold leather and closes her eyes, breathing out another curse, this time in Cambodian. "Avoid at all costs. Repeat, steer clear. I'm on my way." She abandons her 'post' and starts walking toward that bridge, with all the people, and the trucks, and Manning, and Stark being Stupid. She needs eyes on that green and gold clad person. If he's who she's thinking of, this test run is over. Immediately.

~

Loki turns around to watch the trucks as they depart the yard and his hands rise, his head rolling back to look up at the heavens. "Yes." So very -yes-. Taking a deep breath of the fine city air, he lets it out with a pleased growl. "Look at that. Every day we get closer." And with the aid of some of his partner's friends and allies?

Unstoppable!

Now, the trucks aren't all that concerned with the protesters on the bridge, actually. They're moving, and as they begin to grindingly pick up speed, they can be seen in Stark's rear view mirror, assuming, of course, that Tony ever checks that pesky little bit of equipment on the car.

Mystique's diligence in terms of their little operation is most definitely appreciated and he inclines his head. Who is he to keep her from having a little fun? After all, rewards are for those who please him. "Lead the way, then." For the trucks. "They have to get through."

Evelyn's approach towards their spot gains the attention of a certain Asgardian Prince, and now? His gaze swings around to catch the shimmery shifting of an outline; there and gone. Squaring his shoulders, Loki stares, eyes narrowing as he scans the spot. His jaw shifts and turning around slowly, a hint of a grin begins to appear upon his face.

With veritable lightning speed, Loki spins around and thrusts his hand forward, letting off a telekenetic burst from his hand. It's a blind shot and he knows it; but even if it misses, it could very well be telling.

~

"Oh I'm sorry officer, I didn't realize that it was a no honking zone." Tony replies with a smirk. His glasses are pulled up onto his brow and he hoists up out of his seat to look up and down the side of the bridge, presumably in search of this sign. "Clearly they forgot to post that sign…" He drops back down behind the wheel and shakes his head so at to look over at his new date with a point at the every so friendly police officer, "See that dear? That's called profiling. My lawyers love it when they profile me."

Bring on the breathalyzer!

Grinning at his date, "Cops are fun." She doesn't think so. She's really starting to reconsider getting in the very expensive vehicle with the very unreasonable driver. "Sorry officer, I'm just trying to impress my impressionable young lady friend." Tony informs, with a grin.

Usually, Tony would hardly be interested in anything that is behind him because it is behind him and that means he left it back there for a reason. Usually with a heavy foot on a very fine tuned pedal. In this rare of moments he was shifting from a look at his 'date' to a look at the officer and happens a glance at the mirror…. and the truck approaching them at uncomfortably fast speeds.

"Offi-…" Tony is looking back over the rear seats at the approaching transport trucks. He drops back into his seat and reaches over to kiss his date, then points to the door. "Might want to take a side line seat doll…" She hurries, flustered, to get out of the vehicle. "Officer if you could get these people moving in a generally 'out of the way' direction? Thanks."

The convertible whips around in a tight turn of squealing tires and starts at the trucks head on. There's some way to go, obviously, but this thing can do zero to a sixty in a little under three seconds.

~

Evelyn's fingers are still held down on the comm when the telekinetic blast hits her. "Aah!" she screams in a short yelp, though the blast only grazed her. Her arm and part of her torso flare up with rainbow pixels, making that part of her very visible for just a brief few seconds as the optical sensors recalibrate. Stumbling a bit, the girl was very nearly thrown from the building, but she manages to maintain just enough balance to recoup and get back on comms, "I'm fine. He's seen me, I'm moving." At this point, even May will likely lose track of Evelyn.

Vaulting off the roof, Ev lands in a dumpster of cardboard and styrofoam bits. Rainbow static like dust in a ray of sunlight scatter across her body suit as she climbs out with a few pieces of plastic wrap being thrown from her body as she sprints right towards the protesters. She'll blend into the crowd, deactivate the suit. He recognises the shimmer but not the shake. Lost in civilians, she might have a chance to duck back into the shadows. Finally reaching the road in a sprint, she turns her head just quickly enough to be hit by a speeding car.

Grip taken out right from under her, she flies through the windshield of the convertible. Her weight obliterates the glass, and she flies roughly into the passenger seat in a flurry of static. The suit, finally pissed off and overloaded, deactivates. Gasping for air in shock and surprise, Evelyn is laying sideways next to Tony Stark. Literally. Sideways in the most awkward position possible. To Tony, a black suited invisible chick just went through your windshield. Her suit is skin tight and armored with impact and ballistic gel pads. It's a dark blue and grey colour with wires and a full mask on. It has a rebreathing and filtering unit and a bit of a backpack which probably serves as the computer backup and optimal processing unit. Snazzy.

"What the FUCK?!" shouts Evelyn, in a mix of pain and 'what the hell' surprise.

~

Paul studiously ignores Tony's little monologue and continues to march. March march march. At least until Stark's 'Offi-…' at which point he spins around. "WHAT?" Which lets him see the trucks coming. What? "CLEAR THE ROAD!" he shouts and pulls his radio from his jacket pocket. "This is Manning. Get these people on the walkways fast!" "Out of the road! Now! Move!"

~

Getting to the bridge quickly and quietly is a trivial matter. Melting into the crowd is just as simple. Now, then… Someone like Stark is quite well known. Fame does have its disadvantages. All over the mags, the papers, the news, talk shows, the guy's everywhere. Observing him in detail is not only possible, it's become a past-time for many internet fans.

Out of all of this, what's the one and only force in the whole known world that's capable of bossing Stark around?

That would be Pepper Potts.

With the fancy car reduced to a walking pace (briefly, at least, before the convoy of trucks comes barreling through,) the initial approach is made. What the shapeshifter doesn't count on is his sudden change of heart in twisting the convertible around. This is going to complicate matters just slightly. Just gotta time it right, aaand-

Something just went through the bloody windshield! Mystique's little acrobatic trick nearly backfires as she falls quite heavily into the convertible's shoebox of a back seating area, likewise sidelong but only because she's not going to -fit- any other way.

Oh yeah, and it isn't the Butch Trucker falling into the back. -This- passenger would be Miss Potts.

"Tony, what the -Hell- do you think you're doing?!"

Hey, it's not a failed opportunity until someone figures her out!

~

Melinda May can't /not/ hear Evelyn's reaction to being shot at by something and then getting hit by something else. By this point she's broken into a full run, reaching the far end of the bridge just in time to see the trucks bearing down on the now-crunched convertible with three (three?) occupants, and the protesters finally starting to get a clue and panicking. Yes, there's a stampede of the Birkenstock variety bearing down on her position. This is getting worse by the minute.

~

Trucks playing chicken? The trucks, when the drivers can be discerned, are being driven by a few 'others'. Could be metas, could be mutants, but regardless, they're not completely -human-, nor would they wish to be considered as such. Some -may- have wings, some just might be in possession of funky eyes… who knows? (Well, okay, Loki and Mystique do, but they're not telling.)

Regardless, the trucks begin a formation very much like migrating ducks. One at the front, one on each side in something of a 'v' formation, and one more in the back, center. If one plays American football, it's reminiscent of a pretty basic play. That last truck could possess 'the football'.

Loki looks up at his handiwork, a grim smile playing upon his lips as he begins to walk towards the opening of the truck yard where his 18-wheelers have just departed. One, two.. and his pace quickens to see if he can't track where his quarry has just -flown- to via his telekenetic burst.

Damn. Looks like Mystique is going to have a little more fun than he. Still, what's better than winding everything up and letting it go?
Absolutely -nothing-.

His form shimmers as he reaches the gates, revealing now the Asgardian Prince in his 'finery'. Now, he's armoured, complete with helm.

~

The window shield shatters and Tony just barely manages to keep the car from spinning out of control. Teeth clinched, eyes turning to look down at his new passenger, "Are you kidding me?" This is it, this is the line. He's so put upon right now that he almost misses that Pepper drops down in the back seat of his convertible… Wait, PEPPER dropped into the back seat of his convertable? "Have you been there the whole time? When did you start cussing?" Pointing one finger at Evelyn, "Is this your doing?"

He can already see the headlines: Billionaire Tony Stark implicated in the deaths of hundreds of Protesters when Angels fell from the heavens and his hundred thousand dollar convertible sped out of control into oncoming traffic. Tony was unavailable for comment because he said 'the hell with this shit' and moved to mars.

"Well, this is going to get kind of awkward…" He shakes his head and presses a button on the steering wheel. The convertible starts changing, suddenly. Metal parts separate in the driver compartment and closing in around the billionaires midsection, clinking into place over his arms until Tony is encased in a much smaller, very lightweight version of his Iron Man armor..

With a single blast of repulsors he flips out over the front of the convertible and puts a hand down on the engine housing to stop it, "Pepper, get the crazy invisible lady and run?" Turning as the mask clicks into place, he fires repulsors and shoulder slams right into the first of the transports… let's hope it crumples around him, right?

It does, actually. It smashes in against the Iron Man and stops on a damn dime. Inertia sends it back end up, but Iron Man has his fists slammed in through the engine to grip the wheel axle so that he can keep it from toppling and drop it down onto the next truck over with a crunch and shower of sparks.

~

"My name's EVELYN you ASSHOLE!" Shouts the girl as she scrambles to get up from her awkward position. She barely notices Pepper, or at least, does and is just too furious to realize what's going on at the moment. Three things dawn on her shortly thereafter. One: Tony probably can't hear her through his mask and hers. Two: He probably didn't realize her in a -full body suit- and that's not his fault. Three: Pepper is in the back seat. Wait. Pepper is in the backseat. She snapturns, one hand still on the dash and the other on the headrest of the passenger seat. She's kneeling on the seat itself, body half turned.

".. Pepper? What are you.." She stammers off silently, just as the shadow of the truck looms overhead then smashes back down from Iron Man. What.

~

"NO! Run to the sides not down the center of the bridge!" Paul shouts and barely manages not to stomp his foot in frustration. Seriously, how stupid can people be? Just goes to show what a diet lacking in sugar, salt and GMOs will do to you. Turning toward the trucks, he lets the uniformed officers do crowd control and starts running forward AND TO THE SIDE. Unfortunately, he can't start shooting till the bystanders have cleared out. He reaches out to grab a shoulder to push the woman TO THE SIDE when he blinks. "May? What the hell?" No. No time. "Get out of the road." Who knew the agent was a Birkenstock sympathizer.

~

"-Yes,- Tony, I've been riding in the trunk," Faux Pepper calls back. As for when she started swearing, "Just now when you started playing chicken with a fleet of trucks, you lunatic!"

Speaking of lunatic, who the heck is this masked chick that just flew through the windshield and is still coherent enough to complain about it? Never hurts to keep an eye out for other mutants in 'need' of some guidance, after all…

Then the car's stopped. The driver's switched out to his armor. Oh, and he's -asking- her to take the car and go?

And this is how you carjack a billionaire.

"Oh sure, I'd love to run away while you keep making a mess of the city!" she calls back while already on the move to climb in behind the wheel. An angry glare is quickly passed toward the masked femme. "Timing, Evelyn." (How handy is it that she yelled her name just then!) "We'll talk about this later."
Pepper's probably acting a touch more aggressively than usual today, if her stomping on the car's accelerator is any indication. (Well Stark -did- say to run!)

~

Melinda May gets someone's hand on her shoulder and very nearly breaks that hand, but then just glares right back at Manning. "Take the left." And she turns and starts trying to herd the Birkenstock stampede toward the edges of the bridge because there is NO way they're all getting completely off of the bridge before those trucks get here. "MOVE, people! Now!" Sorry, Evelyn, you're on your own for a bit longer. SHIELD training dictates that an agent be able to work without direct supervision temporarily if need be. And right now, as annoying as they are, the protesters need May's attention more to keep them safe.

~

Loki watches the fray, his expression brightly lit. Oh, it is lovely.

His pleasure is fleeting, however, as some human looks as if he gains an iron suit and goes after his truck? His trucks?! From happiness to seething anger faster than Tony's car can accelerate to 60 with his lead foot, Loki begins to stalk forward. The screaming, teeming masses on the bridge is of little concern at this point. Stalking towards the fray, it doesn't take long for him to work out exactly when or who was the one that decided to turn the tide against him.

With the flip of the truck by this iron man, Loki puts a hand out, and creates a windstorm within which -the- truck, that one at the 'back' that is being escorted, sits. The 'football' is in the eye of the storm, and the violence with which the 'wind' whips up, well… it takes parts of the trucks that have fallen off, as well as discarded signs and placards, and perhaps a light hippie waif or two. Now, he doesn't care. The truck has to get through.

~

"Sir, this suit was not designed to take an impacts like that." JARVIS says to Tony, the HUD display inside the helmet is glitchy at best and there's warning lights flashing on almost every system. "Armor integrity down to twenty five percent. Right boosters suffering near critical malfunction."

Tony grinds his teeth and presses hard on the thrusters, ionized ozone lighting the early evening sky around his palms and the pads of his feet. The right ankle repulsor is sparking rather dramatically, but right now it's still working… for the most part.

The armor itself is no longer sleek and stylish either. There's one massive dent along the right shoulder that took the hit and several wire exposing scraps across the midsection. "No time to for a full diagnostic, JARVIS. Put all auxiliary power into repulsors."

"As you wish, sir." One of the subsystems starts flashing a very angry red, whining a warning sound into the pilots ear like a car alarm. "Arc Reactor core integrity at ten percent and dropping."

The wind picks up and the trucks are flying off towards the edge of the bridge. Tony sees the truck in the eye of that storm and rolls his metallic shoulders and starts running towards it. If his car accelerates fast? Just imagine what his suit is capable of. After three jumps he's flying towards the transport fast enough that air is visibly displacing around him, only to be smacked in the side by a spinning piece of bridge and knocked against one of the support structures so hard it nearly snaps the beam in half.

Tony hits the concrete with a crunch and slaps a metallic palm down, again taking off towards the tornadoed football.

"I know JARVIS. Initiate Lost Cause Protocol." Miles away in Stark Tower, a very important message is delivered to one very important person and another is sent to War Machine, where ever he might be.

~

Oh, and by 'we'll talk about this later' Peppique probably means 'get the hell out of my car.' Tony's busy, she's got a fast car with a broken windshield, and ..oh hey, see who isn't wearing their seatbelt?

Stark's midlife crisis mobile sure can accelerate quickly. Let's see if it can stop on a dime, too.

Mystepper stands on the brakes long enough to allow momentum to run its course before switching right back to hard acceleration, the metamorph fully intending on enjoying the rest of her evening at Iron Man's expense.

She deserves it.

~

Shit. Where the hell did this wind come from? Paul doesn't need to ask how; he can feel it's supernatural though not demonic. But it won't matter much if he gets thrown off the bridge by it. Getting as low as possible, he grabs onto the barrier dividing the road from the pedestrian walkway. Actually, maybe he knows 'where' too. That truck seems to be the center of it and something in it is definitely supernatural as well. Making sure he has a good grip, he unholsters his gun and starts firing at the tires.

~

"Pepper, hey. Hey, talk to me. We have to help Tony, why are we driving away?" Evelyn reaches forward to try and jostle her shoulder, but then the car comes to a quick and sudden stop. Neatly, Evelyn is thrown through the windshield that she came from.

Thrown from the car, Evelyn's body is caught by the winds of the storm. Just then, her stealth system reboots and causes her to vanish in a haze of rainbow static, her outline briefly visible at this speed. The drag of deceleration coupled with a rather aggressive updraft sends her body-first sideways into a truck within just a couple yards of Loki. The sound is sickening, the dull thump of a body against the hollow side of a semi. It leaves a sizable dent in the middle and easily winds the machine, who immediately falls face first back into the ground with a plume of dust. Again, the stealth system flickers offline, not really designed to be jostled and fucked with so much. Little patches of her body flicker invisible and visible, like tears in space and time.

Groaning, she rolls a bit to the side, coughing and gasping for air as her own circulatory systems attempt to reboot after such a grievous impact. Her hand reaches up to her mask and pulls it off with a hiss as it decompresses. She's not bleeding, but she's sweating a bit, her face is wet. Loki might very well see this girl looking at him, while trying to slowly get back up to her feet. Something's probably broken in there.

~

Okay, this is QUITE enough. May helps one last stringbean of a hippie onto the sidewalk portion of of the bridge, her hair getting whipped around violently by the increasing winds. Taking a moment to squint, she sees the Iron Man heading into the rather sudden tornado that has a single truck in its center, and the little sports car with only Miss Potts left in it zooming away. Typical rich people. She then tries to get eyes on the green and gold person Evelyn mentioned while pulling what looks like a length of paracord from a pocket, the rope sporting a flat black weight on the end. If Barton can calculate for winds, maybe she can too. First things first, though. "Wolstenholm, status." Hope she's comprehensible past all of the wind noise.

~

And there, that man of iron is thrust from the front of the trucks, slammed into the bridge. Perfect! Loki steps forward, and into his hand appears a staff. It is raised high, and in the next heartbeat, lowers it violently, only to have part of a cable *snap*, and whine towards the downed Billionaire.

Paul's got 'the' truck in his sights, but at the moment, gale force winds really are something of a reasonably effective shield against high velocity weapons. Something, not completely. Bullets ricochet, and in some cases, add to the detritus that flies around as its 'armour'. Still, it moves, though now a little slower in terms of having to get around and/or over things in the road. (Like people.)

As if a present, well.. the appearance of Evelyn at his feet in the suit brings a wolfish smile to his face. (Like father, like son?) Loki looks down at the fallen SHIELD agent, and stares as the suit flickers and shimmers as it quickly loses integrity. His tones are low, sounding a dangerous tenor. At the same time as he speaks, an attempt at a well-placed foot strikes out at the side of the AI's head, "Stay -down-!"

~

The Iron Man is up and firing repulsors to flip him over the side of the wirling length of cable sent at him by the God of Trickery. His palm points towards the length of metal support and fires off a blast of ionized neutrons, shattering the metal wiring and dropping it like a whip to the bridge. With warning lights flashing and complaining with every movement, both scarred metal hands wrap around the weapon as Tony starts spinning. Periodic blasts of his left ankle booster has him creating a mini tornado of his own.

When he releases the cable it's flying straight at the truck and he blasts off after it at full thruster, every bit of power left in him directed into this. one. flight. As predicted the wire creates a tunnel through the detritus field that the Man of Iron follows. There's a wound on his forehead where his face smashed against the HUD and a visible crack has left a sizable wobble in the image over that position, but it doesn't matter… not right now.

Somewhere along his path the suit receives a three hundred percent energy boost and what was only a boosted flight becomes a rocketing smash against the side of the transport truck.

With his metal fists buried in the side of the truck Tony fires all four repulsors. Iron Man and Truck are pushed out of the eye of the storm, both getting battered by whirling metal chunks of truck and bridge as they get out over the water safely out of the way of the protesters.

The glow of his repulsors are easily seen in the darkening sky, flickering… then fading altogether as both Iron Man and transport fall towards the water below.

JARVIS, "Sir, reactor at critical mass." systems are going off one by one in the suit. "All power to l…ragl..brrrr…" BOOOOOOSH… They hit the water like a fat man cannonballing a pool full of children.

~

The static of May's status request is audible without Evelyn's mask on. Though she can't quite reply.

On the opposite line, May will hear a click and the blip of a yell, scratching noises, then silence again. A flash of sound lasting only as long as Loki's foot connects to Evelyn's head. Kicking the communicator is one way to turn it on, briefly. On Evelyn's side, she's just starting to get on all fours with a nice foot kicks her right in the side of the cranium. She yelps in pain and rolls over, still coughing. Something's wrong with… Well. Everything. Her leg feels funny, suddenly everything is really dizzying, balance is hard, some parts of her back and chest muscles aren't working. Her arm is broken but still working. No report on what's operating -inside- of her chest, but there's likely all kinds of internal damage there.

Despite that, Evelyn limply rolls onto her side from her back. Her balance isn't working anymore, so everything is just sheer willpower and concentration. Words are too hard right now. Even if she could just charge Loki and punch him, he'd easily be able to block, dodge, or counter-attack in this state. In a bit of a wobble, she starts to push herself up and get back into a standing pose, though she staggers a bit on her weak leg. Reaching up, she taps the cracked communicated, "Engashed wish gree guy." Oh. Her jaw's broken. Interesting. That hurts. Her head turns briefly to watch Iron Man's suit fail. This is bad. Sorry, Tony. I tried.

~

At this point, Paul can only do the smart things and keep his head down while hanging onto the supports anchored in concrete. He watches Iron Man and the truck fall down into the drink but there's not much he can do about it.

There are some moments in time where Mystique is nothing more than completely selfish. It -is- Stark's car she's joyriding in, which means it probably has security measures and a whole collection of various tracking instruments. Even if she destroyed it before the night is through she's betting that Stark will be able to figure out where it went, and what all happened to it.

So, for the next few hours she'll keep borrowing Miss Potts' persona. Break a few traffic laws, hit the roads outside of the city to get the wind going through her hair at a minimum of, oh, double the posted speed limits, then she'll leave it somewhere and move on before dawn. There are 'hot' cars, and there are cars which belong to world-known tech genius superheroes.

She tends to know when to not push her luck -too- far.

~

Bracing herself against the bridge's railing with one leg, May sets her rope dart spinning at full speed. She's nowhere near enough to try and take a shot at Loki with it, but Iron Man and that truck are falling right past her and she makes a last minute rush calculation and shoots her rope dart out after the falling red and gold armor. The armor hits the water, but did she manage to snare a limb as it went by? Hopefully? Regardless, she wraps the rope around her arm hastily and prepares for the wrench that will mean she actually caught what she aimed for.

~

"Why won't you just -stay-" Loki's words are underscored with a kick, a swipe of his staff in rather violent swings, "-down-!?" Once he's got her attention, the Asgardian Prince laughs softly. "What an interesting outfit you have…" Perhaps May can hear it, perhaps it's a little garbled. Only the SHIELD agent knows for sure!

The truck, however, pulls Loki's attention up, and his eyes widen in disbelief. It's a moment when he's decidedly distracted, and shaking his head, he moves to step -over- the form of Evelyn. "Why couldn't you—" and he's ready to curse the skies, though he spins around to stare at the one person whom he has readily available. "Who are you? Who was that?" comes at her rather harshly. He's willing to crouch beside her, his face only inches from her own. "Who are you?"

There's seconds of extended nothingness as May's dart does not give a jerk, so when it finally does give hold and yank it's probably as a bit of a surprise. Especially at how damned heavy whatever she's hooked actually is.

~

Once again, Evelyn takes the blow. The kick easily downs her again, though she struggles to not fall all the way. The staff blow takes her all the way against the ground, however. Holding up her arm to shield from the blow, it lands with a weird snap and crack of her arm. If ever Evelyn would be aware of a malfunction, about now would be the time. Laying on her side on the ground, she's unable and almost unwilling to get up again. A falter of hope, or maybe just overwhelmed with pain and awareness of the growing heat in her broken arm.

When Loki approaches her, she eyes him. She's all there mentally, but her focus clouded with pain. Her eyes narrow for a moment as she processes the questions. The suit. Who is she? The first time it's asked, she sits up a little. Her arm burns so bad, this is a new sensation, like being on fire. It hurts so bad. Frustrated, a latch ditch effort. "My name is Evelyn!" She shouts, forcing through her broken jaw as she strikes with her broken arm. Ah. That's the issue. Her reactor is fucked up and her arm is overloaded. The polymer muscles were melting inside of her arm, and her strike at Loki's face is one with a couple hundred degrees hot plastic as the muscle, skin, and torn, flaming sleeve of her suit almost melt off the infrastructure built up on her artificial skeleton. That arm is toast.

~

As the wind dies down, Paul stands up and reholsters his weapon. He starts helping up others who need it and cautioning wounded not to move. "We need buses up here." he says into his radio. "And Coast Guard in the water. Tell them to be careful with whatever that truck is carrying." Looking around, he takes stock of the situation.

~

Mystique is gone. Not quite gone with the wind, though. That's more Evelyn's deal tonight.

~

Melinda May really hoped it was going to happen, but is still not fully prepared when the rope dart's paracord snaps taut and probably does its best attempt at dislocating her arm. She can't help but let out a brief yell, then starts leaning her weight back to try and pull her 'catch' up. She hears Manning's voice relatively nearby and hell no she's not going to be left here. "Manning! Some help over here!" The strain is very much heard in her voice, and after a moment she actually loses a bit to her tug of war with gravity.

~

Loki has her right where he wants her. Information coming; and all he gets is a name? Not quite what he meant, certainly, and there's an ever fleeting look of confusion before he's decked with hot, very hot flesh-coloured plasticine. He yells in surprise, in pain, and pulls back hard, hands coming up to protect his face, though now that's a little late.

He's partially protected by the helm, but not all of it. Loki's hands are shaking, working at trying to get the bits of Evelyn off his face without peeling his own off in the process.

In that-? Loki departs. He spins around and begins to leave the area, his image shifting from that of him in armour to the gold and green leathers, and the further he gets from 'ground zero', the more 'human' he looks in Midgardian clothing; jeans, a green shirt…

~

The weight of it is pretty spectacular. Even if this is the lighter Iron Man suit, it's clear that is more of a guideline when it comes to actual poundage. This thing is heavy… It is magnetically sealed titanium plates over circuitry and framing. Repulsors, armament? Yeah, this is not a one person job.

~

Evelyn blearily looks at Loki as she leaves bits of her muscles and skin on Loki. For a moment she feels guilty, but then all she feels is the warm embrace of eternity. Blackness envelopes her and she passes out, just in time for a blinded Loki to retreat. Goodnight.

~

Paul looks over as he hears his name and realizes the situation May is in. "Hang on." he calls and rushes over, past the SHIELD agent and over to the railing. Placing one foot against the side of the bridge, he grabs the rope and boosts. His eyes dilate as adrenaline floods his system and his body goes into flight or fight mode. It's almost always fight and he uses the so-called hysterical strength to start reeling in whatever's at the other end of May's line. In this case, a canned billionaire.

~

The suit surfaces after Paul's significant tug of adrenaline fueled hysteria. Every joint is stiff and there's no lights on anywhere on the metal casing. Water is running out of the compartments where a seal was broken in the right leg, swooshing back into the river like a fountain.

~

Melinda May helps Paul as much as she can, and between the two of them it seems like they're actually managing to pull Iron Man back out of the river. And as soon as there are others approaching she yells at them to get over here and help as well. MOre people equals more strength to pull Iron Man back up onto the bridge.

~

Paul's not needing much help it seems and as soon as the armor appears at the rail, he reaches out with one hand to get a hold and then yanks it over on the bridge. "Get a medic over here." Kneeling next to Iron Man, he tries to get the helmet off.

~

The suit weighs a ton, for sure, and when it hits concrete it does so with a clank of metal. The ever present center reactor set in the suits chest to Tony's own Arc Reactor is not lit, but the helmet proves relatively easy to get off once the right latches are found. When it comes free, Tony's head lulls back against the ground and limply lays flat towards the sidewalk beside the railing.

~

Melinda May shakes out her arm as soon as the Iron Man armor is back on the bridge from its brief dip into the river below, and reaches for her comlink as she does so. "This is May. I need immediate medevac, 12th Avenue, half click south of the Lincoln Tunnel. Initiate the Palladium Protocol, level six agents. NOW." She kneels next to Paul and offers him a taser. "This might help, and I have medics on the way." Then she's standing and running, to try and locate Evelyn. "Wolstenholm, respond." No, she didn't forget.

~

Paul rolls Tony onto his side and tilts his head to try to drain whatever water is there before getting him back on his back to start CPR. One breath and then he tries to figure out how to get the damn armor off followed by another breath. Chest compression through a suit of armor? Not going to happen. Taser's probably not going to do much good either.

~

Evelyn's body is still aside the debris and smashed semi truck. She's limp, and the mask to her suit lays on the ground not far from her. She's covered in bruises and ash, giving a grotesque uncanny-valley feel to her. How can she look so human but be a machine? This scene is compounded by the metal arm exposed to her left. She appears to be breathing, but isn't moving.

~

"Cavalry request confirmed. Medevac en route ETA less than 3, out."

The black, deep blue and silver 'Bell 525 style' helicopter that is incoming has been repurposed for exactly this kind of operation. A medium lift helicopter capable of getting in and out of sticky situations with minimal crew requirements; with it's fly-by-wire flight controls it's tactile cues are outstanding. Right now it is cutting it's way through NYC sky at a breakneck speed while maintaining low radar operations. It's almost stealth-mode. Almost. This specific whirly-bird is equipped with state of the art technology, medical tech mostly (it's not intended for combat).

Agent Woo is a ride-a-long. He's here simply to observe the Triskelion's best in action. Plus, he kind of helped himself onboard when he overheard 'Palladium Protocol' the man is noisy; it's part of why he was such a good damn detective.

"Cavalry request for the Cavalry is a bit superfluous, don't you think?"

"Yes, sir, I suppose so Agent Woo."

Jimmy Woo Yen Jet manages a small grin as he clutches the sidebar just behind the pilot's cockpit. The man is young, nervous but a fantastic pilot. Maybe he should curb his humor, "It's okay. I just wanted to use the word superfluous."

A red news chopper swings by cutting out wide with a very close 'whoosh' of blades that almost clip the SHIELD helicopter. Which of course is flying silent.

"HOLY SHIT!" The medical expert next to Woo cries out. Guts and nerves of steel these men but that was close, even Jimmy had to admit that one.

"We're fine. Look there, Lincoln tunnel. Eyes peeled we are close." Within seconds they should be coming upon the scene.

~

Melinda May reaches Wolstenholm's side and curses again then reaches for her commlink a second time. "Medevac, tell me you have room for two." Being very wary of that melty-looking arm, she manhandles Evelyn's unresponsive form and then hefts her into a less-than-graceful fireman's carry and starts trudging back to where Paul is still checking over Stark. Typical. The NYPD detective is useless. Once she's back by the others (and hoping like hell that the medevac is about to land next to them), she snatches her taser back from Manning and sets the probes to an exposed section of the Iron Man armor's wiring. Please let this be not a mistake. Of course, if the billionaire is already dead, it won't matter all that much. She fires the taser's voltage into the suit's circuitry.

~

Up! Evelyn's body isn't that much heavier than a normal humans, maybe a bit heavier by female standards, but nothing unacceptable. Parts of her arm fall off, but they have spares. SHIELD can fix it. Right?

~

The probes hit the main lead wires out of the reactor through a huge slash in the armors breast plate. Then the whole metal frame acts like a super conductor sending volts of electricity through Tony's body like he was thrown in a pool with an exposed transformer box laying beside it. His back arches up off the concrete and muscles hyperflex and even his face twitches. There's a brief flutter of the arc reactor. A flash of cyan blue energy that fades just as quickly as it appears, but then Tony takes in a sharp breath and opens his eyes.

Coughing, he looks around as if he's staring at the world through a fog. He's only able to move his head from side to side as the rest of him is still encased in a ton worth of unpowered titanium. The reactor is still dead, which means the electromagnet is not active, which explains the sudden moan of pain from the billionaire trying to grab at his chest.

Agent Woo is almost giddy with anticipation at this one. Protocols and seriousness, it's all so professional. A strap pulled a harness locked in place, cord ready. "Out we go?"

"Not yet." The pilot shouts back before circling around once and coming to a very eased hover.
"Now! Go go go!"

One.
Two.
Three.
The trio of Agents (Woo included) all descend with a practiced technique that lands them with rubberband like bounds near Melinda, Stark, Manning and Evelyn. Immediately two of the medical technicians begin to close in on Iron Man and Eve.

Agent Woo himself nearby Manning and Agent May. "Not injured are you?" He asks immediately before slinging her another of those harnesses (cable attached and ready to draw her up with the cargo).

The medtech near Stark begins to wrap the man's encased body in straps, tightening them on, "Please, stay still and calm. We'll take care of you!" Evelyn herself getting the same treatment. They're quick and efficient.

~

Melinda May has some pretty impressive rope burns on her right arm and her shoulder feels like it was pulled out of socket and popped back in, but both of those are hidden by her long sleeve shirt. Compared to the other two it's inconsequential. She shakes her head no at Woo, then very obviously leaves the handling of the just-arriving local authorities to Manning. And, by the lack of his immediately jumping to deal with the Stark Special Handling Rules, she can tell that Woo wasn't read in. "Damnit. Help with Wolstenholm and get out of my way." Even though the medics are starting to prep Iron Man to lift him to the waiting helicopter, she ignores the harness and instead wraps the cable around one leg like a trapeze artist might to climb to the rig in a big top. (Hey, it works for Barton, it'll work for her.) A sharp tug on the cable to tell them to pull her up, and she'll be up there waiting when they pull Stark aboard. With her taser disassembled and the leads to the battery inside exposed. "Get him up here now," she demands of the medics over her comlink.

~

Evelyn is unconscious, still. There is no resistance. She looks oddly peaceful. You try not sleeping after being thrown into a semi and hit by a sports car. Her entire body is covered by SHIELD R&D cloaking technology. A full body stealth suit with gel inserts for ballistic and impact protection. The entire left sleeve has been melted off, and care should be taken to wash hands after touching her. Prolonged exposure to the suit may cause delirium, dizziness, comas, or death. Chemical treatment and all that, passes by prolonged physical contact. Obviously it wouldn't affect her, being an android. Being a SHIELD agent sometimes means testing the whacky shit from R&D. To remove the suit is possible via clasps, buckles, zippers, etc.

~

"She's as lovely as I have been informed." Woo says tartly while watching the woman ascend before waving the tech upwards, "Hurry. Get up to the -box-." Yes that 'special box' that was marked Palladium Protocol usage only. Not quite in those words but thats the gist of it. Inside said box is a specially crafted neodymium magnet that's been modified to concentrate on an area roughly the size of a human heart. It as if someone else has thought steps ahead. Always seems to be the case with S.H.I.E.L.D. ; they protect their assets.
"Also what is a Wool-sten-home?" It's probably in the briefing somewhere. He really has to start being more thorough.
Agent Woo descends on Wolstenholm and the medtech next to her, aiding in the quick lift up and cast off so she'll draw upwards like Stark is now. "Nevermind, quickly now!" The man waves on, giving one look around before the sound of cords being anchored up is upon all of them now. Within seconds Stark and Eve will be on the belly floor inside of the whirly-bird.

~

Stark is in no shape to quip and probably wouldn't want to even if he were. It isn't until he's in that specially made box that he's even able to breath properly without the jagged pain of a thousand needles stabbing him in the chest. Once he is, however, he takes a deep breath and drops his head to the flooring upon which he's laying. Sucking in air like it tastes very much as would the very best wine. There's no gift on earth like it…

"JARVIS.." The AI not be linked through his armor anymore, but he would usually still be through the wrist watch or Stark phone… or… any number of other devices that were fried when May put the probes of her taser to his chest.

He'll send them the bill later. Right now he's just glad he's not dead.

~

Melinda May is the one holding the Box, keeping it from shifting on Stark's chest. If he's got a problem with how they kept him from DYING, he can speak with her about it. Oh, and while she's here, she thumps the billionaire lightly but not very gently on his temple. "Stark. Name your emergency contact. Who can bring you a replacement?" She then knocks lightly at the armor so anyone not in the know thinks she's implying the suit when she is really talking about the reactor.

~

Once all are onboard that hover becomes another of those fast paced rides that will in short order deliver them to the Triskelion medical wing. There isn't going to be much sass or dialogue from the medtechs or Woo right now. This is a serious matter.
Lives hang in the balance.

~

"Potts.." Tony manages, flicking his eyes over to the woman responsible for the thump of his temple, "Pepper Potts.." She's probably going to be very mad… She'll have every right to be, of course, but he had to take steps right? Had to make sure things get said, things that he had no idea he would be able to say himself…

Tony lays his head back, but he's got an eye on that box. It's not that he's unappreciative, but.. how did they know? More over, WHY did they have it? Who 'were' they anyways? Oh so many questions.